Free Joint Status Report - District Court of Federal Claims - federal

Case 1:01-cv-00056-ECH

Document 235

Filed 08/21/2007

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IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS JOHN W. BULL, et. al., Plaintiffs, v. THE UNITED STATES, Defendant. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) JOINT STATUS REPORT Pursuant to this Court's July 13, 2007 order, the parties respectfully submit this joint status report informing the Court of the parties' progress since the last status conference. Customs & Border Protection personnel have calculated the proper amounts of Federal taxes, FICA, and Medicare to be deducted from the wage portion of the six trial plaintiffs' damages awards. Counsel for the plaintiffs has reviewed and does not dispute those calculations. The defendant is prepared to send those calculations to the Treasury Department, with its request for payment of the Court's judgment. That request for payment has not been yet sent, at plaintiffs' counsel's request, in order that the parties may still resolve issues regarding costs and attorneys fees without further litigation. Counsel for both parties continue to believe that they may be able to resolve the plaintiffs' RCFC 54(d) bill of costs, and application for attorney's fees, without further litigation. The parties have engaged in some preliminary discussions regarding these fees and counsel for the defendant has reviewed the bill of costs and continues to review the application for attorney's fees, both of which are very detailed and voluminous.

No. 01-56C (Judge Hewitt)

Case 1:01-cv-00056-ECH

Document 235

Filed 08/21/2007

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On the basis that the parties may be able to resolve these claims, the defendant filed a motion for an extension of time on August 10, 2007, until Tuesday, September 4, 2007, in which to respond to the bill of costs and application for attorney's fees. The parties believe that by that date, they will know whether they will be able to resolve these claims without further assistance from the Court. Counsel for the plaintiffs has calculated the damages amounts for the majority of remaining non-trial plaintiffs who worked at the El Paso port and recently submitted those calculations to defendant's counsel to review. Defendant's counsel will expeditiously review those spreadsheets. Plaintiffs' counsel is also creating damages spreadsheets for other remaining plaintiffs. At this point, counsel for the parties intend to continue their serious discussions regarding resolution of all of the remaining claims. It is counsels' intention that, by the beginning of September, they will have come to a conclusion as to how the remaining claims will be resolved. Respectfully submitted, PETER D. KEISLER Assistant Attorney General JEANNE E. DAVIDSON Director S/Kathryn A. Bleecker KATHRYN A. BLEECKER Assistant Director

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Case 1:01-cv-00056-ECH

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Filed 08/21/2007

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S/David L. Kern DAVID L. KERN Kern Law Firm 1300 N. El Paso St. El Paso, TX 79902 Tele: (915) 542-1900 Fax: (915) 242-0000

S/Tara K. Hogan TARA K. HOGAN Trial Attorney Commercial Litigation Branch Civil Division U.S. Department of Justice 1100 L Street, N.W., attn: 8th floor Washington, D.C. 20530 Tele: (202) 616-2228 Fax: (202) 305-7643 Attorneys for Defendant

August 21, 2007

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Case 1:01-cv-00056-ECH

Document 235

Filed 08/21/2007

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CERTIFICATE OF ELECTRONIC FILING I hereby certify that on this 21st day of August, 2007, a copy of the foregoing "JOINT STATUS REPORT" was filed electronically. I understand that notice of this filing will be sent to all parties by operation of the Court's electronic filing system. Parties may access this filing through the Court's system.

/s/Tara K. Hogan